Paul's singing "Let It Be" at the piano and he just looks like he's about to keel over. They look so worn out, so at the end of their ropes.
Paul seems like the only one who was even trying to give the cameras a little "entertainment"...if you count heavy eye contact as that. (When it comes to The Beatles I have to say I am entertained by pretty much anything.) He's irrepressibly a showman. It's so interesting to watch. They are phoning it in, practically asleep while playing, and yet their music and songs are still transformational. Even though the magic between them personally had faded their raw talent never faded.

I haven't watched this since I was a kid. When I was growing up I somehow found the one video store within a 20 mile radius of my home that had a copy. I would go about once a year and rent it ... until one year it was mysteriously gone.

The rooftop concert is, of course, my favorite part of the movie. One time when I went to London I found the Apple building. I stood on the concrete outside the door and tried to imagine what it was like that freezing day in January when everyone's regular old workday was interrupted by the sounds of the one and only Beatles filling their ears. How phenomenal! This is where that rawness really shows itself. I think it's beautiful and painful to watch; it's like observing a tiny happy moment within any necessary but sad breakup that's been a long time coming. I remember standing there on Savile Row, turning around to find the exact direction they had been facing when they performed by the view of the church spire and buildings.....yes, I am coo coo.

I know I have posted about him before here, but really that was the first time I had talked about him at all since he passed away in 2003. At that point I really had to stop listening, so it has been a while.

AND It's been very nearly 10 years since Elliott's fourth album XO came out! Dang I am old.

So here I am in 2007 and this weekend I put on XO just to see what happened...and poof!

It took me right back to a very particular time in my life. After being a huge music freak since I was a kid, it's hard to believe I can still be caught so off guard by how much one record, one assemblage of songs, can conjure. It's so strange how specific and deep music can make memories, and how easy it is to let it take you back right there. Isn't it weird to realize that those memories have always been right there in your brain the whole time, and you never think about them, but hearing one particular album can access all that once again in a flash? It's like being completely taken away by a good, visceral dream....or a nightmare, depending!

From the moment XO came out, I played it to death. Like, waaaaaay too much. I was completely into it. I could not get enough, esp of the songs "Tomorrow Tomorrow," "Pitseleh," "Oh Well, OK," "Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands" [Elliott's version of AmyWinehouse's "Rehab"], and "I Didn't Understand" -- Geez, really the whole thing.

Q: So Ben, what music did you listen to when you were a kid, like before you could pick yourself? What was playing in your home? BT: My dad used to listen to the Beatles, I remember that. Probably Rubber Soul and I remember listening to Chuck Mangione and Slim Goodbody. He was an informative performer for kids and he wore a full body unitard that showed the inside of his body. I saw him perform in Oakland when I was a kid, my mom took me.

What was the first music that really struck you and made you a big music lover?

George Gershwin "An American in Paris" and "Rhapsody in Blue" and Led Zeppelin. Those were the first tapes that I ever listened to that I remember. My brother turned me on to Houses of the Holy.

What's the first instrument you picked up? Whatall do you play now?

Piano. That was the first thing. My mom made me take lessons when I was 5. I didn't learn the music and I just did it by ear cause I figured out how to do it like that.

Now, drums, guitar, keyboards, vibes, saxophone. Those are pretty much all the instruments I play on a regular basis.

What was the first live show you ever saw?
Slim Goodbody was the first show I remember but he didn't have a band or anything, so I guess the first live show I ever went to was the Dead. My brother took me to see the GratefulDead and while I enjoyed the new experience I ended up falling asleep. I was a kid, I was 12 maybe.

Yes, the site is incredible and I am not afraid to say I am biased. I daresay Dupuy is one of my favorite people in this great big world. He's a Southerner in origin, and thus carries with him that particularly Southern sense of ballsy/cutting humor and deliciously gross charm, but most importantly and like me (perhaps why we get along!), he's a total pop culture whore. His new site is many things, but it's mainly an exploration of how music relates to memory. And trust me, Dupuy's memories and comments are HILARIOUS. You can listen to his first podcast here.

Just push play!

This first podcast is an amalgam of childhood memories, setting the scene for what's to come. Dupuy's gonna post a new radio show every two weeks, and just trust me here, dude's got it down! His production is seamless and layered, but more importantly his detailed tales of growing up in Louisiana as well as living in the now here in San Francisco are quality entertainment. He's not shy. There will also be constantly posted blogs related to music and memory on the site.